“Target names new digital advisory council, will hire 50 software engineers” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “The advisory council includes Ajay Agarwal, managing director of Bain Capital Ventures; Amy Chang, CEO of Accompani, formerly of Google’s analytics unit; Roger Liew, chief technology officer of Orbitz Worldwide; and Sam Yagan, CEO of the Match Group and OkCupid. The council will meet quarterly as a group with Target’s omnichannel team and other leaders. The council members will serve two-year terms with an optional third year.” Read more

“Walmart CEO promises more e-commerce acquisitions” by Tom Huddleston Jr. at Fortune. “McMillon also reportedly expressed some interest in buying a 3-D printing company at some point. Such a deal would be palatable “in some cases,” as the company could use the printers to make replacement part for certain products while customers could print other products right in the store. Wearable technology and connected home products could also prove to be attractive categories for the retail giant in the future, the CEO said.” Read more

“Firefighters Had to Abruptly Leave Costco on an Emergency Call. When They Went Back to Pay, This Note Was Waiting for Them” at The Blaze. “When the firefigthers returned to the store half an hour later, wearing camouflage-patterned shirts with the American flag and determined to still have their steak, corn and watermelon, they were surprised, according to KOVR-TV. Someone had paid their $125.25 bill.” Read more

Study: 37% of millennials would rather shop at the mall, only 27% would rather shop online by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “That compares to 32 percent of older non-millennials who would rather buy online, and 23 percent who would rather visit the mall. “The mall isn’t dead for millennials,” said Mark Treschl, president and chief technology officer at OpinionLab.” Read more

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Market Force Survey: Walmart Most Shopped Grocer, Trader Joe’s #1 in Customer Satisfaction by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Publix ranked the highest for atmosphere and speedy checkouts. Aldi was the clear leader in low price and best private label. Costco ranked highest for quality beef, while H-E-B and Publix pulled high marks in fresh produce. Wal-Mart was lauded for its one-stop shopping experience. ShopRite received the highest marks for sales and promotions.” Read more

“7 of 10 on Target’s board should go, proxy adviser recommends” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “A prominent proxy adviser has recommended that Target Corp.’s shareholders oust seven of 10 board members at the retailer’s annual meeting next month, saying that those directors failed to protect the company against a massive data breach last year.” Read more

Japan “Retail Sales Plummet 13.7% in April After Consumption Tax Kicks-In” at Bloomberg. “Sales in April fell 4.4 percent from a year earlier, with drops in all sectors including autos, clothing, food and beverages.” Read more

Random: “Here Are The States Where People Are Having The Most Babies” by Lauren Friedman at Business Insider. “When adjusted by population, the rate of births is the highest in Utah, with 17.6 births per 1,000 people — significantly higher than the national rate of 12.5.” Read more

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